The earliest documentary evidence we possess of the existence of the Portmoot in Leicester is to be found in a charter granted to the burgesses of Leicester in about 1120 by Earl Robert Beaumont, called le Bossu. The charter acknlowledges the Portmoot's authority and its continuance is secured to the burgesses of the town.
The name of this administrative and juridical body clearly implies that it was an institution of Saxon origin. Though its power was no doubt suspended at the time of the Conquest, it does not appear ever to have been superseded by any different kind of civil authority. Indeed the Normans seem to have recognised its suitability and allowed it to continue in Leicester, as similar institutions were permitted to continue in other towns.
This aldermanic body, which after the Conquest formed the borough court, was composed of 24 prominent townsmen, selected from the richer burgesses. These were called Jurats, and were presided over by a senior officer known in the first instance as the 'Alderman' and later as the 'Mayor'. The Mayor and Jurats not only formed the chief local court and council of the town, but were also at the head of the
Merchant Gild, a municipal trade brotherhood.
The chief functions of the Portmoot, were the punishment of crimes, the settlement of disputes, and the maintenance of law and order in the borough. At its sessions, justice was dispensed and legal sanction given in local matters that demanded official attention.
This borough court continued its operations for several centuries as the supreme collective embodiment of civic authority. By the commencement of the 15th Century the Jurats had acquired the title 'Brethren of the Mayor' or 'Comburgesses'. Finally, as the Portmoot and the Merchant Gild merged into a single corporate body, they were known as the 'aldermen' or the 'company of the twenty-four'.
Under Elizabeth's Charter of Incorporation, granted in 1599, the Portmoot was declared to be:
"...a Court of Record, to be held in the Guildhall on Monday in every week, or oftener, at the discretion of the Mayor, Bailiffs and Burgesses, before the Mayor, Recorder, Bailiffs and Steward, or anyone of them."
Its powers were defined and its authority in real actions was acknowledged. As a Court of Record it existed as late as 1835.
